Book Review: Law in a Complex State: Complexity in the Law and Structure of Welfare
| Author | Mel Cousins |
| DOI | 10.1177/138826271401600207 |
| Date | 01 June 2014 |
| Published date | 01 June 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Reviews
182 Inte rsentia
broadly in the eld of socio-legal st udies and she has car ried out work on citizens’
grievances and social secur ity policy, with a par ticular focus on disability a nd social
care. Her current research concer ns the history of the concept of ‘incapacit y for work’
in social secu rity from the early 20th century to t he present day.
Neville Harr is, Law in a Complex Sta te: Complexity in the L aw and Structure of
Wel fa re, 2 013, xxxiv + 275 pp., Oregon, Oxford and Portla nd: Hart Publishi ng,
ISBN 978–1–84946–445–1
is interesting book, by a lead ing expert on UK welfare law, seeks to explain how
and why complexity has developed in the modern welfare state; to identif y the ways
in which welfare systems may be classied as ‘complex’; to discuss the eects of
complexity both in terms of welf are administration and a lso its wider implications for
citizens’ rights a nd citizen-state relationships; and, nal ly, to examine the ex perience
of attempts to simplify welfa re law. is is an ambitious agenda. e author focuses
primarily on t he UK experience, but also refers, in chapter 7, to case studies in a ra nge
of other countries – in par ticular, Australia, New Zea land, Germany and Sweden.
e author rst discusse s complexity (as it relates to welfare systems) and considers
how it might be analysed (chapter 1). As he points out, welfare systems are oen
described as ‘complex’ without any real sens e of what the term means or how it might
be measured. Yet his interesting discussion of the prelimina ry work which has been
done does not suggest that there are easy answers to the question of how to analyse
and measure complexity (see chapter 3). Nonetheless, the author does suggest t hat
an approach which seeks to ana lyse the ‘customer journey’ may be ‘the most fruitful
means of assessing a nd understanding t he impact of complexity on claimants and
their rights to welfa re’ (at p.243).1
Harris goes on to look at the ‘de sign, structure and management’ of welfare
systems (chapter 2) and at a number of particular i ssues, including claims for benets
and their administration (chapter 4); challenges to decisions (including reviews
and appeals) (chapter 5); and the obligations of welfare claimants (chapter 6). ese
chapters together discuss t he impact of dierent aspects of the welfare system on the
experiences of claima nts.
Given that there is a fairly widespread political and popular consensus (in most,
if not all, countries) that ‘complexity’ is ‘bad’, it is interesting t hat Harris concludes
that complexity in welfa re systems is not only ‘inevitable’ but also – to a cer tain extent
– desirable in order that welfare systems can meet the diverse needs of individuals
and family un its (see chapter 8). He does suggest that, although the law is perhaps
the greatest source of complexity in welfare systems, it may also oer tools of
1 e concept of the ‘customer j ourney’, which looks at the burdens t he welfare system impose s on
claimants , is discussed at p.108 et seq. A nd see R, S. (2007) Benets Simplication and the
Customer, London: Depart ment for Work and Pensions (DWP).
To continue reading
Request your trial